Screenwriter
Angus MacLachlan (Junebug, Stone) tried his hand at directing his own material
with Goodbye to All That, a dramedy
about divorce and middle-aged casual dating, with a script that is ironically
the weakest element of the film. There are episodic moments of humor and some
great performances, but the narrative meanders without direction until reaching
a lackluster resolution. The conflict is never fully developed, in favor of
scattered moments of random humor instead, so that very little seems to be at
stake in the relationships of the few characters that actually matter.

Although Wim
Wenders traces the 40-year career of Sebastião Salgado in The Salt of the Earth, and the documentary is co-directed by the
photographer’s son, Ribeiro Salgado, much of the film’s focus becomes about the
events covered rather than the life of the artist behind the images. This
weighs down the content, especially with many of the tragic social situations
around the world that Salgado has chosen as his subjects, but any less depth
would have been too superficial for the material. Even 110 minutes doesn’t feel
like enough time to adequately examine Salgado’s personal background along with
his work, though an uplifting final section does help alleviate the somber tone
surrounding much of his earlier photography.